El Niño forecast renews worries about Pacifica cliffside homes

Properties along Esplanade Ave can be seen perched on the edge of an eroding cliff Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. The center property is vacant.

Properties along Esplanade Ave can be seen perched on the edge of...

It takes more than a spectacular, vertigo-inducing view down a crumbling cliff into the crashing waves to make Bart Willoughby flinch.

The planning specialist hired to monitor erosion along the cliffs next to seaside apartments in Pacifica leaned out into a driving rain above the dizzying drop last week and pointed to a pile of fortifying rocks that he said are preventing the bluff from collapsing.

Bracing for El Niño

The question, he said, is whether those rocks will prevent violent waves driven by El Niño storms this winter from undermining the building’s increasingly precarious perch.

“The bluffs have been maintaining themselves over the years since they’ve had the rock revetment, but there are places in the revetment that basically have got slumps in them and the waves overtop them and take out some of the sand,” said Willoughby, gesturing 80 feet downward from the back patio of the apartment building he oversees at 310 Esplanade Ave., which is still occupied. “Eventually it’s going to be a problem.”

It has certainly been a problem for two adjacent apartment buildings, at 320 and 330 Esplanade, which were evacuated in 2010 after the cliffs eroded and left them teetering on the edge. Those buildings are now awaiting demolition.

The cliffs 15 miles south of San Francisco had remained relatively stable over the past four years of drought, which brought unusually balmy weather and very few storms to the California coast. Problem is, forecasters are expecting the El Niño weather pattern that now prevails to turn nasty, bringing the kind of heavy rain and crashing waves that previously caused large chunks of the coastal bluffs to peel off.

“It’s hard to say what the severity of the El Niño is going to be at this point,” said Willoughby, who helps property owners trying to protect their investments from coastal erosion negotiate the sometimes labyrinthine permitting process. “But when you continually have high tides at 6-foot plus and storm swells that come out at 19 and 23 feet, there is a potential for serious erosion.”

Sea level rising

It is an issue that coastal communities along the West Coast are facing, particularly now that climate scientists are saying the effects of global warming are beginning to show. The rate of sea level rise is expected to increase over time, inundating low-lying communities and accelerating coastal erosion during storms.

Some 21 million people live in coastal communities in California, according to a sea level rise policy guidance document adopted in August by the California Coastal Commission. About $100 billion worth of coastal property will be at risk over the next 85 years if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced.

“Virtually all of the Bay Area communities are grappling with this issue now, and San Mateo County is taking the lead,” said Nancy Cave, the manager of the coastal commission’s district office in San Francisco. “They’ve been identifying critical assets to protect and working with local communities identifying things that need to be relocated.”

Coastal trouble spots

The retreating coastline is a major issue in many places now. Caltrans is planning to spend $20 million to rebuild a nearly mile-long stretch of road next to Gleason Beach, north of Bodega Bay, in Sonoma County, where the ground has crumbled into the rising sea.

At least seven homes have been demolished there over the years, and one was moved inland as sea walls and other fortifications have failed to stop the roiling water. Parts of a historic ranch across the road from Gleason Beach will have to be purchased to make way for the new road.

San Francisco and Marin County are updating their flood hazard policies amid concerns about increasing coastal flooding and erosion, particularly at the intersection of Highways 1 and 101 at Manzanita, in Mill Valley, and along the Fort Funston bluffs, off Sloat Boulevard, at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

The cliffs along Northridge and Avalon drives in Daly City are also a major concern. Landslides scarred these bluffs and threatened homes and a church during storms in 2003 and 2007.

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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320 Esplanade Ave perches on the edge of an eroding cliff Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. The property is vacant.

320 Esplanade Ave perches on the edge of an eroding cliff Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. The property is vacant.

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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Local resident Bart Willoughby walks past a pile of rocks installed to protect bluffs from erosion as he looks at a recent bluff failure not far from Dollaradio Station, a historical landmark that is now threatened by erosion Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. Both properties are vacant. less

Local resident Bart Willoughby walks past a pile of rocks installed to protect bluffs from erosion as he looks at a recent bluff failure not far from Dollaradio Station, a historical landmark that is now ... more

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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Local resident Bart Willoughby points out properties on 330, right, and 320 Esplanade Ave perch on the edge of an eroding cliff with debris below them as seen from the beach Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. Both properties are vacant. less

Local resident Bart Willoughby points out properties on 330, right, and 320 Esplanade Ave perch on the edge of an eroding cliff with debris below them as seen from the beach Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. ... more

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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Local resident Bart Willoughby walks past a pile of rocks installed to protect bluffs from erosion as he walks the beach to take photographs and check on bluff failures in the area Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. Both properties are vacant. less

Local resident Bart Willoughby walks past a pile of rocks installed to protect bluffs from erosion as he walks the beach to take photographs and check on bluff failures in the area Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, ... more

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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The ocean laps up against installed rocks placed to protect the seaside bluffs on the beach along Esplanade Ave Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

The ocean laps up against installed rocks placed to protect the seaside bluffs on the beach along Esplanade Ave Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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A rusted satellite dish lays in the sand among debris after falling from a property perched on the edge of an eroding cliff Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

A rusted satellite dish lays in the sand among debris after falling from a property perched on the edge of an eroding cliff Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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Properties on 330, right, and 320 Esplanade Ave perch on the edge of an eroding cliff with debris below them as local resident Wil Coats meditates on the rocks below that have been placed along the bluffs to protect them from encroaching tides Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif. Both properties are vacant. less

Properties on 330, right, and 320 Esplanade Ave perch on the edge of an eroding cliff with debris below them as local resident Wil Coats meditates on the rocks below that have been placed along the bluffs to ... more

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

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The tide comes in on the beach along Esplanade Ave Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

The tide comes in on the beach along Esplanade Ave Dec. 23, 2015 in Pacifica, Calif.

Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle

El Niño forecast renews worries about Pacifica cliffside homes

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But the Pacifica bluffs, where dozens of apartment buildings and homes sit, are the biggest immediate concern. It is here that seven homes had to be demolished in 1998 to prevent them from crashing into the ocean.

“Pacifica is certainly one area we keep an eye on,” Cave said. “It’s obvious from its history that there is an erosion issue there. That’s why it’s been prudent that the city, the commission and the property owners have been working together to mitigate the hazard there.”

Dollaradio Station

The historic Dollaradio Station, built in 1926, is one structure everyone would like to save. The Palmetto Avenue building, originally owned by Capt. Robert Dollar of the U.S. merchant marine, was one of the first West Coast ship-to-shore Morse code communications centers before it was turned into a private residence.

The owners of the spectacular seaside home, which recently sold for $2.5 million, have watched helplessly over the past decade as the bluffs have eroded, leaving the home perched precariously over a precipice.

“The ground is moving all the time,” said Alfredo Ochoa, a representative of the buyer, Barbara Turnbow, who plans to work with the Coastal Commission on ways to shore up the grounds. “Our engineer is working on ideas right now on how to stabilize the hillside.”

Hanging over the edge

The cliffs along Esplanade began significantly crumbling during storms in 2003. Storm-driven waves during the winter of 2009-10 left the three apartment buildings literally hanging over the edge. There has been a frantic effort since then to reinforce the sandy bluffs, including piling tons of rock on the beach, drilling 250 reinforcement rods into the cliff and coating the face with fiber-reinforced concrete.

The owners of the buildings were supposed to fund the work, but the whole issue has since become mired in lawsuits.

Millard Tong, who owns both 320 Esplanade, which is scheduled to be demolished, and 310 Esplanade, which is still occupied, has filed for bankruptcy protection. He sued Engineered Soil Repairs, the company hired to fortify the hillside with boulders, for failing to properly protect the buildings. The Walnut Creek company has, in turn, sued Tong for refusing to pay the $1.8 million bill. Engineered Soil Repairs’ lawyers are urging the county to foreclose on his property to help pay the bill.

Preparing for demolition

The lawsuits are in mediation, according to Willoughby, who is acting as Tong’s agent. Meanwhile, Pacifica has issued abatement orders and is preparing to demolish 320 and 330 Esplanade. The question now is whether 310 Esplanade can survive the pounding surf expected this winter.

“So far this year there hasn’t been any additional erosion, but we are going to continue to monitor it,” said Pacifica Police Capt. Joe Spanheimer, who regularly patrols the area. “People will continue to reside in it until conditions arise that warrant them having to move.”

Willoughby said he is more concerned about people’s safety than he is about the property.

“You can replace a building,” he said as he stood red-faced in a gale on the back patio of the weather-battered apartment building. “You can’t replace a life.”